Purple Haze

Harper is OBSESSED with the color purple. When decorating her room I did use purple and turquoise, but I had no idea she would fall in love with it as hard as she has. :) She notices it everywhere: in books, clothes, flowers, stuffed animals, buildings, cars, etc. The second she spots it, she points her finger and squeals "Purple!" We scored a twin bed frame several months back that we planned to repaint before putting it in her room one day. When I say repaint, I figured we'd give it a fresh coat of white paint. Well, a few weeks ago Andrew and I decided to skip the white paint and go for a bold purple. After all, the walls are very neutral and this would give the room a nice pop of color. I'm still searching for a comforter or quilt; of course the one I found that would be perfect is out of stock, but I'm not giving up! We moved the bed into Harper's room last weekend, so she has slept successfully in her big girl purple bed for a week and LOVES it. I had one set of white sheets already and wanted to pick up a second set to alternate. Can you guess what color Harper picked out? There's a whole lot of purple going on in her room right now! I'm anxious to get the rest of the bedding to tone it down a bit. (And we still need to take down her crib and rearrange a few things--I wanted to make sure she would definitely sleep in the bed before getting rid of the crib!)

Ryder's "Sea"lebrities

Ryder's first session of preschool camp is behind us, and I couldn't be happier with how well it went. He loves going to school and is learning so many new things every day! The center is closed this week, so we're going to enjoy a week of not waking up to an alarm and being a little lazy (like we used to do!) On Friday Ryder brought home all of his bigger art projects for the month: the theme was "sea"lebrities of the sea, so each day he would come home and tell me about the sea creature he learned about that day. These projects are definitely keepers that I will want to look back at when he gets older.

I love how they turned his footprint into a fish--so creative!

Transitions

Ryder beginning preschool camp was only one of the major changes in our house last week. After being a stay-at-home mom for the past year, I started a new job! I'm working at a wonderful preschool/parenting center (the one Ryder is attending right now), and I love it already. I only work 3 days a week for the summer and then 5 days when school begins again in the fall; it's the perfect way to ease back into the working world. And an awesome benefit is that both kids will be attending preschool there in the fall, so we can all head to the same place each morning. I'll still be working with children and parents, but no more lesson plans to write or papers to grade--I'll take it!

So Harper's big change was starting daycare and spending time away from me for the first time since she was 6 months old. I have to admit, I was so nervous about how she would do since she's such a Mommy's girl right now. I was surprised and thrilled when the director told me that she wished every child's first week could go so smoothly. Even though she cried when I dropped her off, it only lasted about two minutes and then she slid right into her new routine. Each day they do a little art project, and when Ryder and I picked Harper up the first day, Ryder saw the picture and asked, "Did you make that for me, Harper?" She nodded her head and said, "Yeah." So now Ryder insists that all of her projects are for him, and he can't wait to see what she's done. I can tell the two of them miss each other during the day, which is adorable. On Friday when we picked her up she said, "Bubbee!" and ran right to Ryder to give him a hug. They each stood with one arm around the other's waist while I gathered Harper's things. If my phone hadn't been buried in my purse, I would have taken a picture because it truly was a Kodak moment. :) Here's to hoping that this week will be just as wonderful!

Two exhausted kids enjoying a show and after-school snack together

Summer camp and Harper's 18-month well visit

What a morning! Today was Ryder's first day of preschool summer camp. :) Over the past year I've taken the kids to library programs and activities at the preschool center, but this was the first time I'd be dropping him off with someone other than Grann. Camp is every day from 9-1 for the months of June and July, so I was really hoping he'd love it. I know it will be an adjustment, but I think he needs the break from me and socialization with kids his age instead of just his little sister. He was busy exploring the classroom when I dropped him off, so he was distracted when I told him goodbye and snuck out of the room. I found out later that he did cry for a few minutes when he realized I wasn't in the room; the teacher talked to him and then gave him a little job to help her out, and he was fine after that. I told her that was the perfect way to distract Ryder because he loves to be a helper! When I picked him up he talked non-stop the whole way home: the play-doh he played with, the raisins he had for snack, the two trips out to the playground, how he ate his whole lunch (in his brand new lunch bag!). I had tears in my eyes when he said, "Mommy, it was even funner than you said it would be!" I was so proud and happy for him...I'll worry about his grammar later. Ha!

While Ryder was at camp, Harper and I headed to the pediatrician's office for her well visit. In the car she kept saying, "Bubbee?" (brother?) like I had forgotten to bring him with us. She asked about him several more times throughout the morning, and I thought it was cute that she missed him. :) She wanted nothing to do with the scale or the exam table at the doctor's office. The nurse had to make several attempts at getting Harper's correct weight and height because she screamed and squirmed when I put her down, but as soon as I held her again, the tears stopped. Yep, she's a mommy's girl! The visit with the doctor went well, and Harper was happy to walk around the room and read some books. But as soon as the nurse walked back in with the one shot Harper had to get, Harper clung to me again and looked at the nurse as if to say, "You again? You're the one who made me cry last time!" We don't have to go back now until her 2-year check-up. Where has my baby gone???

Official stats:
Height: 32 1/2 inches (75th percentile)
Weight: 25.3 lbs. (65th percentile)
Head circumference: 19" (90th percentile)

Sizes:
diapers: 3 for now, but I'll probably buy size 4 next time
shoes: 5
clothes: 2T

DIY Letters

I am slowly but surely getting around to decorating the kids' bedrooms. Ryder's room especially has a lot of blank wall space, and I have a few ideas about what I'd like to do to remedy that. We will probably be transitioning Harper into a "big girl bed" in the next few months, so I don't want to do too much in there until the crib comes out and I decide how to arrange the space. I decided that some wall art using their first initials would be a safe place to start. I looked online for some ideas and then headed to Hobby Lobby to get the supplies: 2 art canvases, fabric, and buttons. Easy! I covered each canvas with fabric, and since I already had the "R" and orange spray paint at home, Ryder's was especially easy.

I wanted Harper's to look more feminine, so instead of using a wooden letter, I hot-glued various purple buttons onto the canvas to create the letter H. This was super easy, but it was a LOT more time-consuming for someone with a Type-A personality. :) I wanted the buttons to fit just right, so I probably  definitely put way too much thought and time into it before actually gluing them down. To hang it, I glued a loop of sheer purple ribbon to the back and then tied a bow using a smaller, frillier ribbon that will hopefully hide the nail. Harper is napping as I type this, so I haven't hung her canvas in her room yet; I plan on centering it over her bed just like Ryder's. I'm happy with how they both turned out!

Harper: 18 months

It amazes me how much both of my kids changed between 15 and 18 months. There are so many things Harper can do or say now that she couldn't just over a month ago, and it seems like it changes daily! I take her back to the doctor for a well-visit next Monday, but here are some of her other developments.

Some new vocabulary:
-baaa, for a sheep
-lamb (lammy)
-quack quack (sounds like waa waa)
-bubble
-purple
-pool
-noodle
-blocks
-boo boo
-jelly
-baby
-star
-turtle
-door
-hi
-bye
-no
-stop
-mine (pronounced "mines")
-pee and poo (sound like "bee" and "boop")
-Pops
-Nana
-Mammy
-Grandpa ("Bah Bah")
-brother (now pronounced "bubbee")

Other developments:
She loves to wrestle and horseplay on our bed, flopping back onto the pillows.

Harper is quite the instigator! She will pick up one of Ryder's toys and say, "Mines!" Occasionally this will start a "mine" war, but usually this is what happens:
H: Mines!
R: Sure, you can play with that one.
H: Mines!
R: You can play with it.
H: (complete silence and a blank stare, because this is NOT what she was expecting)

Anything that belongs to Ryder is so much cooler than her own stuff. She loves to put on Ryder's shoes and clomp around the house or drink out of his cups.

She's been practicing her jumping skills. It is adorable to watch because no matter how hard she tries, she can't quite get her feet off the ground.

The second Harper spots a camera, she says, "Cheeeeeese!"

Sometimes she'll get right next to me and say, "Mommy?" When I turn to her and say, "Yes Harper?", she says, "Hi!"

In the bathtub the other night, Harper was splashing water EVERYWHERE, and Ryder was getting annoyed. He finally yelled, "Harper, stop!" while holding his hand out in front of him like a crossing guard trying to stop traffic. Harper quit splashing in order to mimic him over and over again. "Top! Top!" I couldn't help but laugh at the little copycat.

her first pigtails!

She had to be bribed with my phone in order to sit still, but it was worth it. :)

wearing her new tie-dye sundress that Daddy made for her

LOVE this one!

Enjoying some play-doh time with Ryder...

saying "cheese" with Kix in her mouth

This is very serious business.

A party for Nana

We had a little birthday party for Nana this weekend to celebrate her turning 102 later this week. Wow! The weather was beautiful, so we enjoyed visiting outside while the kids ran around and played on the putting green. Thanks, Pops, for taking all of the pictures!

Ryder gave Nana a picture he painted for her, complete with some of his favorite car and truck stickers.  

Harper had a great time pulling the "flag" out of each hole.

ready to golf!

Maybe we need to work on his form a little--ha! 

He made a couple hole-in-ones from a pretty good distance that had us cheering, despite the fact that he looked like a hockey/pool player. :)

Was he aiming for hole #3? I'm not sure what prompted this one.

When Harper hears a bird chirping, she'll start flapping her arms like wings.

wiped out

Happy birthday, Nana!

And some more beach pictures...

Ryder filled this little cup with seashells he found.

This one had a tiny hole that he could see through.

sandy fruit snacks--yum!

enjoying an ice cream cone after lunch

By the time she was finished, her face and stomach were covered with ice cream and sprinkles.

I don't think Ryder spilled a drop!